EV Grieve's Twitter pic.

​Today is a special day. One of our favorite neighborhood blogs (and Village Voice Web Awards judge), the excellent EV Grieve, turns four today. We've seen other local blogs come and go, but Grieve has stuck around and become an indispensable source for anyone interested in the rapidly changing East Village. We read the site every day and it's led us to some of our favorite local stories.

On the blog today, Grieve explains how the sausage gets made:

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The DOT's new haiku safety program.

​Have you seen the Department of Transportation's latest effort to keep people safe on our streets? It involves little signs with little safety messages placed in "high-crash locations" where...perhaps...people should not be stopping to read? According to NBC NY, "Half of the signs will be hung in pairs, with the image and haiku text appearing. Others will be equipped with technology to allow New Yorkers to access the safety message via smartphone."

Safety tip: Put down your smartphone while in the street. No, not actually IN the street...

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Williamsburg's Nighthawk Cinema, by Ty Cole

​Open House New York, a yearly opportunity for you to creep into the secret, often forbidden or under-acknowledged corners of the city, a/k/a, a celebration of the city's architecture and design, is being held this year on October 15 and 16. With the support of home owners, architects, cultural institutions, volunteers, and the public, the ninth year of the event brings access to hundreds of sites, plus tours, talks, performances, and family and kids activities. Some you have to reserve and pay a nominal ($5) fee for; others (including all the family/kids events) are free.

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​Keith Haring fans! We didn't get Art in the Streets, but we will be getting a large-scale Keith Haring exhibition in April of next year, the Brooklyn Museum announced today. Keith Haring: 1978-1982 will focus on Haring's early career as a new transplant to New York.

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​Our annual Best of New York City issue is out October 19, and we want to hear what you have to say about your favorite New York establishments, from food to sports and recreation to shops and services to arts and entertainment...and of course bars and clubs. Fill out and submit our online reader's poll, and along with the joy you'll gain from having told us what you think, you'll also be in the running to win two CMJ badges. Yeah!

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​As you prepare to enjoy your long weekend we are hard at work on this year's Best of New York City issue, in which we identify things we truly, truly love about this town, from soup to nuts, and non-food items, too! But we also want to know what you think. Our reader's poll is up, and there are 66 things that we desperately need your advice on. Like, best wine bar. This is relevant to our interests.

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"Park Avenue," by Stephen Wilkes

​When we first saw the photographs making up Stephen Wilkes' "New York: Day to Night" series, we gasped. We have long loved Magritte's "Empire of Light" painting, which plays with simultaneous experiences of darkness and light (you know, the one with the blue, day-like sky, the dark house, and the glowing lamppost?). And Wilkes' new offerings do that, but on the backdrop of New York, with so much detail and energy...not to mention, they're photos. Truly, they are so cool. We spoke with him recently to find out how he did it, and what inspired him.

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